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Newcastle United's unsettled forward Alexander Isak was seen returning to the Magpies' training ground on Monday. The Swedish player started pre-season with the north east club but didn't participate in matches against Celtic or travel to Asia for their tour due to an injury.
It later came to light that Isak had asked to leave the club and explore opportunities elsewhere. This immediately piqued Liverpool's interest, despite the Reds having already signed Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Luis Diaz was transferred to Bayern Munich last week, paving the way for a bid for Isak. A proposal valued at $146M (£110m) was put forward on Friday.
Newcastle dismissed the transfer outright, which seems to have deterred the Reds. Liverpool currently deems it 'futile' to make another offer while the Magpies are so resolute in their refusal to sell their star player.
However, in a new development, it appears that Newcastle and Isak may be preparing for discussions. Sky Sports has released images of the Swede arriving at Newcastle's training ground.
Eddie Howe has thus chosen to give those who made the journey a day off to recover from the lengthy flight back home.
Meanwhile, Isak spent the previous week training in San Sebastian with his former club Real Sociedad, as the uncertainty over his future persists.
Speaking after his side's game against Tottenham, Howe sent a firm warning to Isak as he prepares to link up with his teammates.
Howe said: "He's like any other player, we would expect him to come in and train as normal." In response to queries about further contact from Liverpool, Howe mentioned: "Not as far as I know."
Howe openly acknowledged the issue when questioned about the implications of Isak skipping team training at Benton while the squad was back in Newcastle, suggesting it would be seen differently now.
Howe remarked: "Of course it is. But there is also another way to look at this. You have to earn the right to train with us. We're Newcastle United.
"The player has a responsibility here to be part of a team and part of a squad - you have to act in the right way.
"So that is also at play here. We will make sure that any player does that to earn the right to train with the group. No player can expect to act poorly and train with the group as normal."
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